Absolution: The Hunter Mercenary Series (Book Two)

by Morgan Kelley

  Slinging beers helped her forget.

  And right now, she really needed to do just that.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Wednesday Morning

  Crack of Dawn

  R ogue had gone home for the night, only to return back to the house shortly after. While in his mansion, all he could do was pace the floors as he thought about Cordelia and their talk. Then it hit him.

  Why should he stay there? If he did, he’d have to face a totally empty house and Cordelia’s scent all over his couch. Besides, he’d left Odin at Chartres Street, and he, currently, was hanging around Storm and the new bodyguard.

  So, he crashed in his room there.

  Unfortunately, sleep hadn’t been his friend the entire night, and now, as he was making the coffee, Rogue was thinking—no, obsessing—about the woman who turned his world upside down.

  What was he stuck on?

  How she looked right sitting on his front porch.

  She looked right, waiting for him to come home.

  The irony was that since Charlotte and he had broken up, three years ago, he didn’t ever have women in his personal space. It was easier to hook up somewhere else.

  Yes, he’d fornicated at hotels.

  He wasn’t proud of it.

  It was simply easier to get a room, grab a girl, pay the tab, and sneak off into the night.

  NO names.

  NO way to find him.

  Then that got boring after a while, and there had been no one.

  Now he was thinking about the woman who showed up at his place, threw his well-ordered life to hell, and rocked his world with possibly the hottest sex he’d ever had.

  Jesus.

  He was hard just thinking about her.

  So, that was one more reason why he came back to the house, despite the looks from Zayn.

  Home was where the heart was, and honestly, the only people he felt an attachment to were these people.

  Well, and his mother.

  Maybe his daughter.

  Rogue’s life was one hell of a mess, and after this case, he hoped to get it back together again.

  As he poured his first cup of coffee, Odin came walking in, past him, and to his dish. He sat, and then stared at him.

  “Uh, I have bad news for you, tubby. Someone has been feeding you way too many snacks. You won’t get a girl looking like a polar bear.”

  The dog barked.

  “Yeah, well, you’re a traitor. Maybe you should go find one of them to feed you. I’m not your bitch.”

  Odin’s ears went back, and he growled.

  Rogue knew it wasn’t at him. His dog was good at guarding, and he was alerting.

  “Who’s outside?” he asked. “Stranger?”

  Odin barked.

  Rogue headed for the back door. When he opened it, Odin placed himself in front of him and growled.

  That’s when he saw her.

  Cordelia.

  Well, holy fuck.

  His dick twitched.

  “Morning,” she stated. “Is he going to bite me?” she asked, pointing at the wolf positioned in between them.

  “No, he won’t,” he stated. “Odin, friend.”

  The dog stopped and his tongue flopped out of his mouth as he sat there.

  “Can I pet him?” she asked.

  “Everyone asks me that,” he said, still trying to figure out how he got so lucky that she’d showed up not only at his house, but here too.

  A house she wasn’t supposed to know about.

  A house with gates.

  A house with security…

  His dick reacted to the mere idea that she was very much a cat burglar. It turned him right on—even more than the fact she was a cop.

  “Hey, Odin, want a belly rub?” she asked.

  “He doesn’t…”

  The dog rolled over and let her do just that.

  “You have no shame,” he told his dog. “None whatsoever. A pretty woman and you’re showing off your junk. I’m getting you fixed.”

  Cordelia laughed.

  She’d shown up at his house thirty minutes ago to be told by Joey that he was not home. That, to her, meant this secret location. So far, she was impressed. The courtyard was gorgeous. It was filled with cobblestones, wrought iron tables, and little lights that were still on in the early morning light.

  Rogue watched her rub his dog’s belly, and he wondered if he did the same thing if she’d….

  God!

  He was so damn horny.

  “Want some coffee?” he asked, trying not to act like a total idiot.

  She glanced at her watch.

  “Yeah, I don’t have time. I have to report in to my boss. Captain Anderson is a bitch when you make him show up for work early, and you aren’t there. The man will make the infidels cower.”

  Well, in that case, he handed her his cup.

  “You can have mine.”

  Cordelia’s heart skipped. Well, she wasn’t going to pass that up. His lips had been on it.

  She took it, and gratefully, she took a sip.

  “I stopped at your house,” Cordelia admitted.

  “Did you?”

  “Your chef was there, and he wasn’t happy that you wanted him there to cook and you were MIA.”

  “Shit! I forgot,” he said, rubbing his temples. “I was preoccupied,” he admitted.

  “With who?” she asked.

  “You.”

  It hung there.

  Rogue didn’t want to scare her away.

  “Anyway, you headed here, and it looks like you scaled some gates to get in here. I’m surprised my dog didn’t meet you there and lick you.”

  Odin seemed to grin up at him with a toothy doggy smile.

  Ham.

  His dog was a ham.

  “Well, I will admit that curiosity killed that cat, and I didn’t want to ring the bell this early. I was going to leave this here, and then leave. I figured someone would find it if no one answered the door when I knocked.”

  That was true. She was going to lightly knock and run for her life—chicken style.

  He watched her pull a rolled-up folder out of her back pocket. He didn’t miss she was sporting her badge, Kevlar, and gun.

  That made his heart skip.

  She had a really dangerous job—one where she searched for killers like he and the team were doing.

  Yeah, this was going to be tricky. He didn’t doubt they were going to get tangled up in each other’s cases. Theirs being way past legal, and hers being so very dangerous.

  “What is it?” he asked.

  “Well, your other cohort, the ex-marshal one,” she stated, “mentioned sex ring, and it got me thinking last night.”

  “Bringing your work home with you?” he asked as she sipped his coffee. He was focused on her mouth, and how it felt against his.

  Now he was really hard.

  Shit!

  “Well, honestly, I was thinking sex, and then I had to distract myself.”

  He grinned like he’d done something good.

  It made her laugh.

  “Yeah, yeah, you rocked my world. Now back to sex rings—not sex on a couch.”

  Rogue realized he’d done the same thing his dog had done. Well, he should be neutered too.

  Damn it.

  “Here.”

  Rogue took the file.

  “As I was saying, this might assist your team,” she stated. “I know you don’t want me digging into this case, but I think it might help for you to have what is available to the local law. If there are innocent women being hurt in this city, then I want to make sure that stops.”

  Rogue opened it.

  “What is this?”

  “That is every single missing girl in New Orleans. I figured that if people are going missing, that’s where to start. I’m crazy smart like that,” she teased.

  Rogue knew they could go around her for it, but this was a really nice gesture. She still hadn’t mentioned anything about his c
onfession from last night.

  Nothing.

  He didn’t know what to say about that.

  “All I’m asking is this…”

  “Oh, a condition. What is it, copper?” he asked.

  She laughed.

  “Men, as a rule, irritate me. You…you don’t. That irritates me even more,” she said.

  Well, he had news for her.

  He was going to keep doing it. Rogue was taking this little felonious impromptu visit as a hint. She wanted to see him, and he wanted to see her.

  Well, he’d see where it led.

  “What’s your condition?” he asked.

  “If you find them…let me know. Dead or alive, I’d like to get them home to their families.”

  That didn’t surprise him.

  “I will do that.”

  “Perfect.”

  She finished his coffee.

  “Thanks for the fuel up. I appreciate it,” she stated, placing his coffee cup back in his hand. “See you later, Mr. Ravenscroft. Have a good day.”

  As she turned to leave, he knew he needed more than that goodbye. He needed her.

  “Cordy.”

  She turned, despite normally hating that nickname. For some reason, coming from his lips, it didn’t faze her.

  Not one bit.

  “Yes?” she asked.

  Rogue took a chance. Moving toward her, he got into her personal space, pulled her against him, and gave her a gentle kiss on the lips.

  It wasn’t like their heated exchange yesterday, but it was even better.

  It was filled with sweetness and hope.

  Promises and chances.

  Slowly, he pulled away.

  “That was better than any cup of coffee,” he stated, as she stared up at him.

  In that moment, she had to know.

  “Did your mother really hate her?” she asked. “Did she really tell you to stay away from her?”

  He was a little caught off guard. He didn’t know why she was asking, but he knew who ‘her’ was.

  Since she didn’t freak-out about last night’s confession of his real profession, he opted to share more of him.

  Was it stupid?

  Oh, yeah.

  This cop had the ability to crush him. Rogue knew what that was like, but still…

  Cordelia also had the power to heal him.

  “Yes, she did. Moms are good at things like that. Grace is an excellent judge of character, except when she fell in love—herself.”

  That was good to know.

  It appeared that before she even started anything more with this man, she was going to have to face down the woman in his life.

  Grace Ravenscroft.

  But how?

  When she heard the chiming church bells in the distance, she knew it was time to go.

  “Work calls.”

  Yeah, it always did.

  “Be safe out there, Detective. If you need me, think about very light fingers.”

  Immediately, she found his own card tucked inside her pocket.

  It made her laugh.

  “Stealing my moves. Nice one, Mr. Ravenscroft. You are a criminal after all. It’s sexy.”

  His heart lifted, and he laughed as she headed out of the courtyard without asking the code. He wasn’t the only one who broke into places. It looked like the woman he was crazy about had some felony in her too.

  When he turned around, he walked right into Zayn.

  “Someone’s in love,” Zayn stated, trying not to laugh at the look on the man’s face.

  “Eavesdropping?”

  “Hardly. Her little stunt of climbing the gate set off the alarms,” he said, pointing to the flashing light on the tablet. “I was on guard duty last night. I deactivated the alarm when I saw it was her. You know…so you two could make out without someone zooming in to check out your technique.”

  He stared at him.

  “That’s…creepy.”

  Zayn laughed.

  “I know. I like to keep you on your toes.”

  He headed toward the coffee pot to grab a cup of coffee for himself.

  “You have it bad.”

  Rogue made another cup of coffee and didn’t hold anything back. Apparently, both men in the house had his back, and he was grateful.

  “Yeah, I do. She’s going to be a tough nut to crack,” he stated.

  Zayn laughed.

  “My money is on you, playboy.”

  Rogue hoped he was right.

  “Today?” he asked.

  Zayn pointed down toward the basement. Their prisoner was first up on the agenda. He’d suffered all-night in the cold cell, tied to a chair.

  It was almost time.

  “We have an even tougher nut to crack. Dakota is still sleeping. We have Danforth interrogation duty.”

  “Great.”

  Yeah, he could say that again. For the first time in his life, Zayn was NOT looking forward to this.

  Someone had to die.

  This time, it would be the man who gave his woman life.

  * * * H U N T E R * * *

  She was amused.

  Word was already out that someone was picking off her people.

  This was exactly why she didn’t leave any one job to one person. When you did, your empire crumbled. By bumping them around, they never knew who was handling what, and if they opted to rat her out, it was harder for them to lock it down.

  This wasn’t her first day doing this.

  Now that her network had been breached, it was time to adjust, fix, and carry on.

  This was just a hitch in the small part of her plan. In the grand scheme, she was still rich, and there were still buyers.

  Making the call, she waited for him to answer.

  “Chesky, what’s going on?” she asked.

  “We have a mess. Someone is picking off people. I think it’s the same assholes who killed Maxine.”

  She thought about it.

  “Well, what can we do? You know the city better than I do. I don’t base out of this place.”

  “Maybe we should close up operations.”

  She laughed.

  “Listen. I had Greyson Croft on my ass in Vegas, and I didn’t shut down operations. I’m not letting some pissant assholes ruin this. We have flesh to pedal and promises to keep.”

  “I feel like I’m being hunted.”

  She didn’t give a shit what he felt like. When he’d felt like Maxine needed to be part of this, she allowed it. Now, she was done listening to him.

  “We have protections in place.”

  “They got Elliot. He was sent to Charlotte’s place, and he’s missing. There was a fire there.”

  She was aware.

  She had connections who kept her up to date. In fact, she had the ME’s report right in front of her. Being smart was how she kept one step ahead of the players in this game.

  “Yeah, they found a body in the fire. Male.”

  “He was my go-to guy.”

  “I hope you learned from me and always have a backup plan,” she stated.

  “Oh, laugh it up. They got Jake. They found his car abandoned in an alley. It was stripped out. He wouldn’t leave that car for anything. There went your next batch of drugs.”

  “Well, fuck.”

  Okay, that pissed her off.

  They took out one of their runners and now one of their suppliers. This was getting…irritating.

  “Who is doing it?”

  “I don’t have names.”

  “WELL GET THEM!”

  Yeah, it looked like he didn’t have a choice. He was going to have reach deep into their sources and find someone who had an answer. Charlotte had been the one who put out the alarms when people had gotten a little too close to the bad guys doing business in the town.

  Man.

  He regretted killing her.

  Sometimes.

  “On it, Rosemary.”

  “Chesky, if one more person in the chain goes down, I will kill you mysel
f.”

  He got it.

  This was no joke.

  The shit was hitting the fan, and they were likely going to get dirty.

  And not in a good way.

  * * * H U N T E R * * *

  Four Twenty-Five

  Chartres Street

  When he woke up, it had been from a dream where she was laughing and having a good time with him. The second he began pulling from sleep, his heart actually hurt knowing those days were over.

  Then he opened his eyes.

  Sarah was there, sitting on the bed beside him, watching him with her calm eyes.

  “Hey,” she stated. “I hear you got hurt. I wanted to come here and check on you,” she said, offering up the olive branch. She’d realized something as she watched him sleep.

  She loved him so much.

  “Yeah, it was an operation gone bad. I was ambushed,” he said, trying to get up from the bed. Immediately, Sarah tried to help him, but he pushed her away.

  The look on her face said it all.

  She hadn’t been expecting that kind of rebuke.

  Well, it was a new day.

  Dakota wasn’t feeling it.

  “Don’t bother,” he stated.

  Sarah stared at him.

  “I was just trying to…”

  Dakota was so filled with anger, and it had nowhere else to go but at this one, single solitary person. There was so much pissing him off, and he needed a scapegoat.

  So, he let her have it.

  “When I needed you, you bailed. I don’t know why you even bothered to come check on me, Sarah. You clearly didn’t give a shit last night.”

  That hurt her.

  It squeezed her heart in her chest.

  “Dakota.”

  He stopped her from saying anything. It was his turn. She ripped into him in a room full of people, again, pissing him off and adding fuel to this. Fights should be private. Everyone had them, but the whole house had been privy.

  That wasn’t cool with him.

  When you were upset with someone, you discussed it privately. His ego was dinged up.

  A lot.

  Dakota kept going.

  “No, you’re right. WE aren’t ready for that ring to be on your finger.”